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WoW Rookie: The method in the madness of resurrection

New around here? See all our collected tips, tricks and how-to's for new players in theWoW Rookie Guide.

It ain't over 'til it's over -- and in World of Warcraft, it ain't over 'til every player has used the last resurrection cooldown and trick. Death is far from permanent in Azeroth, and over time, the available methods of resurrection ("rezzing") have multiplied. Some classes can resurrect only outside of combat; one class can rez even in the heat of battle. Some classes have rezzes that work only on themselves. Now that the dungeon finder makes running instance groups so easy for a leveling player, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with all the alternatives for coming back to life. There's a specific etiquette that's risen up around rezzes, as well, so take note and don't get caught looking like a chump.

Reincarnation Available at level 30; self only (only works for the shaman casting the spell); 30-minute cooldown, able to be reduced to 10.

What you need to know

Hurry up already If a rezzer of anything but a druid's combat rez is put into combat before completing a rez cast, the spell will automatically be cancelled.

At their feet You will respawn at the feet of the player who resurrects you. (If you release your spirit and run back to an instance, you'll respawn automatically when you zone inside.)

Any time, any place Your corpse can be resurrected whether or not you've released your spirit, unless you've already run back and re-entered the instance and are alive again. If you've already released, your rezzer will need to first click the rez spell and then click on your corpse to make the spell go off.

Rez etiquette If your party wipes (everyone dies), it's considered extremely rude not to release and run back to your corpse. Inconsiderate players have long abused the ability to chat or go AFK while a rez-capable healer runs back to his corpse to then rez the rest of the players. This can considerably slow down the group's progress, since everyone must wait for the healer to recover mana not only from his own rez but from then rezzing and rebuffing the other group members. Common practice dictates that unless the healer tells you otherwise, you should release your spirit and run back to the instance on your own. Once you're back on your feet, eat food to regain your full health so that the healer doesn't have to waste time, water and mana on unnecessary healing. Getting back up to speed is the responsibility of each and every group member!

Eat up Just been rezzed? The first thing you should do is sit down to eat and/or drink. You'll save your healer's mana by taking care of your own health, and you'll help your group get back on its feet quicker by getting yourself ready to roll.

Hang tight Whatever you do, don't release your spirit if your group is still fighting. As soon as you release your spirit and transport to the graveyard, you are no longer considered "present" for the encounter. If that happens, you will not be able to loot or roll on anything dropped by the mobs and bosses that die after you release. The same principle applies to quest event completions and achievements; if you release before the key mob is killed, you will not receive credit.

Premature release If you've already released and are running back to the instance when a healer offers you a rez, don't enter the instance. Accepting the rez is preferable, since it saves having to run back from the zone entrance past any respawn.

Dealing with respawn If your party wipes, releasing and running back all together lets you group up just inside the instance. Retracing your path as group vastly simplifies dealing with wandering patrols or respawns along the way.

Easier said than done One more reason not to release: Some forms of resurrection spells such as Goblin Jumper Cables (more on those just ahead) have a much lower chance of success or may not work at all if you have released to the graveyard.

Heart and soulstone

Warlock soulstones are first available to warlocks at level 18. This is an item that applies a buff to the warlock or another player allowing the player to resurrect one time. There's a 15-minute cooldown. Soulstones are usually put on the healer in group, so that if the party wipes, the healer can resurrect himself and then use his spells to resurrect other players.

If you die while soulstoned, the pop-up option box that appears will allow to you to choose to Release Spirit (go to the graveyard) or to Use Soulstone; if you choose to use the soulstone, you will resurrect at your corpse as soon as you press the button. Accepting another player's resurrection or releasing your spirit will essentially waste the soulstone.

If you die while soulstoned and use the soulstone, you will resurrect exactly where you die -- so take care when death appears imminent that you run to a spot where you can safely rez without attracting nearby mobs.

Soulstones don't make you invincible; using a soulstone to pop back up during a losing battle with partial health and mana and no buffs probably won't do anything more than cause you to die again. Wait until the coast is clear, then use the soulstone to rez yourself so that you can rez the others.

Goblin Jumper Cables Created by engineers with a skill of at least 165, these cables might shock a dead player back to life. They cannot be used in combat and have a 30-minute cooldown.

Goblin Jumper Cables XL This upgraded version of Goblin Jumper Cables can be engineered at skill level 265 and have a better success rate than the plain version -- about 50%.

The Gnomish Army Knife One of this versatile tool's functions is resurrecting dead players in the manner of Goblin Jumper Cables. They are not soulbound, so you can pass them to anyone else who has the appropriate engineering skill to try again if you fail.

Raise Ally Surprise! This level 72 death knight ability the DK to raise a fallen raid or party member to fight for a limited time. If you're rezzed by Raise Ally, you'll be able to perform basic attacks.

Death: The final word

There's actually a lot more that could be said about death, resurrecting and respawning -- but we've reached the end of need-to-know territory for new players. Feel free to bring up more details (what works and what doesn't inside an arena, when it's worth using the spirit healer and more) in the comments.

We do have one more suggestion, of course, and we've saved it for last. The best solution: Play smart, don't die.